Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Even on the days that Saquon Barkley didn’t have room to run or didn’t have that top gear, he found a way to contribute.

In last week’s Big Ten championship, Wisconsin didn’t allow the conference’s offensive player of the year to get into much of a rhythm. But at the end of the night, Barkley had 101 total yards and two touchdowns, including the winning score on a 20-yard catch in which he beat Badgers star linebacker T.J. Watt on a wheel route.

Barkley found the end zone in 11 of 13 games — 19 times total — a consistency that earned him the respect of coaches throughout the conference.

Those coaches voted the Penn State running back the Big Ten’s co-MVP as Barkley split the Chicago Tribune’s prestigious Silver Football with Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett. The results were announced Thursday.

The award has been given out since 1924 — 11 years before the Heisman Trophy debuted — and Barkley is the fourth Penn State player to win it since the Nittany Lions joined the league in 1993. The other three Lions to earn the honor are all quarterbacks: Kerry Collins (1994), Michael Robinson (2005) and Daryll Clark (2009).

Clark’s win was also the last time there was a tie for first, as he split it with Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham.

All 14 head coaches in the conference cast a ballot of their top two players, though they couldn’t vote for any of their own. Barkley and Barrett both received four first-place votes and two second-place votes.

In a diverse field, five players received at least one first-place vote, including Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers, Ohio State’s Curtis Samuel and Northwestern’s Austin Carr.

Barkley enters next month’s Rose Bowl with 1,666 all-purpose yards and broke Penn State sophomore records in yards and scoring.

This came despite injuries across the offensive line throughout the season, including the team’s top three tackles.

“I want to credit (offensive line coach Matt) Limegrover on our offensive line for battling,” Franklin said Saturday. Because we lost a lot of guys to injury. It’s been a three-year battle for us. And it wasn’t always pretty.

“But I also think that’s a credit to Saquon Barkley, the amount of yards he’s been able to rush for this year, the durability he’s had, the big plays at critical moments in games has just been huge.

Facilities update

Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour appeared on the program’s weekly radio show on Thursday and said the school is now targeting January to release its long-term plan for its athletic facilities.

“We had originally targeted the end of the summer, early September,” Barbour said. “We were very close to being ready. We decided the plan needed some flexibility around two projects.”

For football, the plan is expected to call for a renovation of Beaver Stadium, one that may reduce the total capacity to give fans more space and amenities.

“I’m really excited about it,” Barbour said. “It’s important to us, it’s important across the board. Also remember that it’s a 20-year plan. If it’s not quite ready, if we even had a couple things that we’re — not tweaking, but providing more options — we want to make sure we have some wiggle room in it.”

Saquon Barkley is the fourth Penn State player and the first non-quarterback to win the Silver Football.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_silver-football.jpg.optimal.jpgSaquon Barkley is the fourth Penn State player and the first non-quarterback to win the Silver Football. Michael Conroy | AP photo
Lions RB splits MVP award with OSU’s Barrett

By Derek Levarse

[email protected]

Silver Football voting

• All 14 Big Ten head coaches submit a two-man ballot and cannot vote for players on their own team. Players received two points for a first-place vote and one point for a second-place vote.

Player`1st`2nd`Total

1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State`4`2`10

1. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State`4`2`10

3. Jabrill Peppers, Michigan`2`4`8

4. Curtis Samuel, Ohio State`3`1`7

5. Austin Carr, Northwestern`1`1`3

6. Corey Clement, Wisconsin`0`1`1

6. Malik Hooker, Ohio State`0`1`1

6. Desmond King, Iowa`0`1`1

6. T.J. Watt, Wisconsin`0`1`1

Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse